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I-Naga curry house in Croydon Road, Coney Hall, West Wickham has been open for seven years and won the UK-wide chef of the year prize consecutively since 2014 (Image: Grant Melton)

Mr Miah, 54, has been head chef of the restaurant for seven years and said: “I’m delighted and feel very proud because I’m the only one to have won the award four times in a row. I have been working very hard for many years and I try to make the customers happy so we keep the regulars.

“We work seven days a week and I can’t remember the last time I took the day off in case the customers notice and don’t come back.

“I have lots of my own recipes and specialities, I have my own Korai spice I make at home.

"I’m happy with the award not just for me but my colleagues, we work as a team of seven and they all work so hard as well, so it’s important to all of us."

Mr Miah has been the head chef of the restaurant since it opened seven years ago. Previously he was the head chef of Spices Indian Take Away in Wickham Road, Shirley for three years.

The Bangladesh-born chef collected the award alongside restaurant owner Abdul Hay at the awards ceremony at the Royal Lancaster Hotel by Paddington in the west end on Sunday, October 22.

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A main meal at the I-Naga a curry house in Croydon Road, Coney Hall, West Wickham (Image: Grant Melton)

Mr Hay, 40, said: “Winning the award is the biggest achievement you can ever have and the greatest thing we can do in the industry, it just means everything for the restaurant to win.

"I feel very proud for every member of my team at I-Naga.

“We all work nearly seven days a week every week, sometimes I can’t remember when I’ve properly sat down with my family.

“We try to have exceptional service, be personal with the customers and everything is as meticulous as we can get it.

"The chef will carefully change bits of the menu as we are constantly trying new things for us customers. Our oven-baked garlic aubergine starter is a chef’s special, and although it took me to do a blindfold taste to be convinced, it’s now our best starter.

“Sometimes on a Friday and Saturday we can be so busy people that don’t book have to wait for two hours and we don’t like that but we are getting that popular and I’m really proud.”

I-Naga curry house in Croydon Road, Coney Hall, West Wickham is proud of their chef Abab Miah (Pictured) for winning the UK-wide curry life awards for best chef for the 4th year running. (Image: Grant Melton)

Alongside having a menu with a wide variety of modern-twists to traditional dishes, they are open to doing off-the cuff recipes with cheese chana masala, which features chickpeas, being a particularly popular non-menu side dish.

The Korai chicken is one of the restaurant’s most popular main dishes while the I Pie Curry, where the meat is served in a pillow of mashed potato covered in curry sauce, is the most eye catching.

The restaurant has 16 staff, a five-star food hygiene rating and once a month on a Tuesday it has a live themed-music night.

From Mondays to Wednesdays, they do five courses for £11.95 in the restaurant.

Syed Ahmed, editor of Curry Life Magazine and founder of Curry Life Awards, said: “It’s a great accolade because the level of Indian cuisine in the UK has reached unprecedented heights, which includes several Michelin star restaurants.

“I-Naga is a small intimate restaurant on the fringe of London, but it is cosy and all of our judges think the food is tremendous and that is why it is always winning awards.

Inside the I-Naga curry house in Croydon Road, Coney Hall, West Wickham, just a mile from Croydon. (Image: Grant Melton)